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Category: ConnectedCOPS Awards

ConnectedCOPS Social Media Campaign

This award will go to the law enforcement agency which has met its stated goals with a documented social media campaign. The campaign is designed to address a significant problem or educational issue within the agency’s jurisdiction. Nominations should include a description of how success was measured.

The finalists in the Social Media in Campaign Management category have proactively and strategically designed a campaign with social media having a significant part. They have carried out the plan and achieved the goals set forth.

There are three finalists in this category:

North Yorkshire Police, United Kingdom
The North Yorkshire Police (NYP) were nominated for their success with two separate social media campaigns. With its #TeamNYP campaign, the NYP grew its engagement with citizens significantly. The plan was strategically combined with traditional communication methods to draw more views to the force’s website and other content. A key piece of the project was the redesign of the home page of the force website featuring live social media content. With a separate campaign focused on mobile technology and a goal of reducing burglaries, the NYP created an iBook campaign for iPad users. The iBook is called “Securing your home” and features chapters on bogus callers, burglary prevention, property marking, vehicle security and rural crime. The project was such a success that more iBooks are forthcoming and several other UK forces are looking to the NYP for their leadership.

Waterloo Regional Police, Ontario, Canada
With a goal of engaging youth, building awareness and stimulating dialogue surrounding gang prevention, the Waterloo Regional Police (WRPS) created the “8 Days of SWAG” social media campaign. The campaign and its social media profiles were deliberately branded separate from the Waterloo Regional Police Service based on a perceived notion that if youth knew who would be hosting the campaign, they would be less likely to participate. Each day was assigned a theme, as a way to organize the broad topic of “gangs” and prizes were awarded every day. By the end of the 8 Days of SWAG campaign, the WRPS had engaged over 650 participants which in turn reached more than 83 thousand Twitter accounts. On Facebook, they reached over 5,400 people, of which 68% were between ages of 13 and 24. WRPS received numerous requests from students, asking them to visit their school, as well as requests to continue the campaign next year.

Collier County Sheriff, Florida, United States
In November 2012, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) launched an ambitious multi-faceted public safety campaign aimed at bringing about a law that would make it illegal to text-message while driving in Florida. “Stop Texting & Driving” was a community-based, grass roots movement to address the growing demand for Florida to join the 39 states that have declared it illegal for drivers to text behind the wheel. Through their website, PSA’s and social media, citizens were asked to sign a call to action in support of anti-texting legislation. The Sheriff also invited community members to share their texting and driving experiences on the CSCO social media platforms. More than 150 people posted messages, many of which were heartbreaking, about how their lives had been affected by someone who was text-messaging while driving. Most significantly, Gov Rick Scott signed legislations on May 28th that makes it illegal to text-message while driving in Florida.

Finalists in the other awards categories will be announced throughout this week on this blog. Check back to see the finalists for Top Cop tomorrow. Winners will be announced September 25th at The SMILE Conference™ in Omaha, Nebraska.

The ConnectedCOPS Awards were created by LAwS Communications with the intent of recognizing the good work being done by individual officers and law enforcement agencies with social media. The international law enforcement community will be considered for these awards. Any officer or agency anywhere in the world is eligible.

ConnectedCOPS Leadership Award

This award is given to an officer up to and including the rank of Sergeant (or its international equivalent) at any worldwide law enforcement agency who has singularly demonstrated exemplary and selfless leadership in the use of social media to improve public safety and/or enhance his or her agency’s community engagement and reputation. This individual is creative, innovative and fearless and shares what s/he knows by mentoring others, participating in public speaking opportunities and leading by example.

The finalists in the Leadership are risk takers. In most cases, these are the officers who have lead the way for their agency to become a social agency. They have overcome the many obstacles that often present themselves along the way. This category is one of the most competitive in the awards program. The finalists are all true leaders of their profession. Each one of them personifies the true spirit of this award.

There are three finalists in this category:

Officer Ryan Grelle, Denton, TX Police
Officer Grelle is one of Texas’ strongest proponents of social media in law enforcement. He not only has lead his own agency to social media prowess, but serves as a mentor and role model to others in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and beyond. Officer Grelle also took the reigns to recruit dozens of U.S. police departments to participate in the first Global Police Tweet-a-thon which eventually included over 200 agencies around the world.

Sergeant Christopher Cook, Arlington, TX Police
Sergeant Cook has lead the Arlington Police Department social media program for the past two years. In that time he has taken the department from having only a very small Facebook existence to being a social media powerhouse fully integrating Twitter, YouTube, Nixle a weekly news video and growing the APD Facebook presence tens time over. Cook has a keen understanding of the importance of good content and citizen engagement and instills those beliefs in staff members.

Deputy James Hart, Sacramento County Sheriff
In eight months Deputy Hart has brought his Sheriff’s Office from the “dark ages” of paper press release, wanted and missing persons posters to one that fully integrates social media. His work has transformed the way the department serves and engages the community. Hart has used social media to solve unsolved crimes, reunite missing people with their families and inform citizens about crime occurring, major incidents, recruitment opportunities and what it would be like to be a Deputy Sheriff.

Finalists in the other awards categories will be announced throughout this week on this blog. Check back to see the finalists for the Social Media Campaign Award tomorrow. Winners will be announced September 25th at The SMILE Conference™ in Omaha, Nebraska.

The ConnectedCOPS Awards were created by LAwS Communications with the intent of recognizing the good work being done by individual officers and law enforcement agencies with social media. The international law enforcement community will be considered for these awards. Any officer or agency anywhere in the world is eligible.

ConnectedCOPS Social Media Civilian Award of Excellence

This award is given to the individual civilian member or employee of a law enforcement agency who has singularly demonstrated overall excellence in the use of social media to improve public safety and/or enhance his or her agency’s community engagement and reputation. This individual is creative and innovative and shares what s/he knows by mentoring others, participating in public speaking opportunities and leading by example.

The finalists in the Civilian Award of Excellence category in many cases are the leaders within their agencies to implement social media. These individuals are true pioneers. The judges report that with many very accomplished people being nominated, naming finalists was a challenge and determining a winner will not be an easy decision.

There are three finalists in this category:

Bridget FitzPatrick, Omaha, NE Police
Bridget works directly with the local community of Omaha by listening to their needs and providing a civilian perspective of law enforcement. Bridget has secured a regular live spot on a local TV station where she presents on safety and police action from a citizen’s viewpoint. OPD recently had very negative press from an incident involving an officer. Through a collaborative effort, and with Bridget taking the reins, OPD was able to manage the event to a more positive outcome. With hard work, including time on her day-off, to navigate through a period of extremely negative spamming, hate comments and anti-police Facebook comments and pages. Fitzpatrick’s expertise and viewpoint successfully addressed concerns from both the civilian and police who were involved.

Dionne Waugh, Richmond, VA Police
The Department’s Command Staff met Dionne’s efforts with a great deal of skepticism. It took tenacity and patience to drag a group of “Old Guard” staff into the modern day of social media and take a chance on creating a Facebook Page for the department. She was the first to understand how Facebook could establish the link between the Department and the general public – a line of communication that is critical to the success of community policing. Ms. Waugh is constantly called upon to speak at police conferences and always accepts any opportunity to help colleagues better understand and use social media. Through her hard work and dedication, she has established the Richmond PD as one of the top agencies for its size in the nation.

Mark Myers, Oklahoma County Sheriff
Mark Myers has lead the OCSO to become a leader in the implementation of social media and one of the most followed sheriff’s offices in the country. Whether sharing information regarding natural disasters, arrests, traffic, crime incidents, or sharing community services information, social media has become a priority within the agency under Myers’ direction. In May of 2013 central Oklahoma was ravaged by deadly severe weather that included tornados and flooding. With Myers’ leadership, the OCSO became a mainstay of information through social media. Additionally, the OCSO participated in the Global Police Tweet-a-thon. Mr. Myers used the event to generate leads in a 30 year old cold case.

Finalists in the other awards categories will be announced throughout this week on this blog. Check back to see the finalists for the Leadership Award tomorrow. Winners will be announced September 25th at The SMILE Conference™ in Omaha, Nebraska.

The ConnectedCOPS Awards were created by LAwS Communications with the intent of recognizing the good work being done by individual officers and law enforcement agencies with social media. The international law enforcement community will be considered for these awards. Any officer or agency anywhere in the world is eligible.

ConnectedCOPS Social Media Event Management

This award is given to the law enforcement agency anywhere in the world who has used social media to manage and/or influence a public safety/emergency event, whether unforeseen or known. This agency has strategically and successfully implemented social media engagement techniques to positively and effectively communicate public safety information in an urgent or emergency situation.

The finalists in the Social Media in Event Management category have done extraordinary work managing emergency events. The judges were very impressed with the quality of nominations in this category.

There are two finalists in this category:

Calgary Police, Canada
When the greatest disaster in the city’s history hit Calgary, the media went quiet and so did City websites and social media accounts. That’s when the Calgary Police Service stepped up. In an attempt to communicate during the crisis, CPS put out numerous updates on Twitter and Facebook, as well as responding to many of the over 22,000 mentions between June 20–24. When a City of Calgary website housing evacuation maps went dark, CPS took those same maps and posted them on their Flickr account, answering the questions of many confused Calgarians. On the Service’s official YouTube account, an hour-long video from their HAWCS helicopter showing the devastation of the flood was posted which quickly garnered 77,000 views. The Digital Communications Team, who run the Service’s social media accounts, also acted quickly to produce daily video updates to keep the Service’s members informed. Throughout the emergency, the Calgary Police Service social media accounts became the most trusted source for important information.

Boston Police, United States
The Boston Police Department made headlines around the world after the marathon bombings with their use of Twitter to keep the public informed of what was happening during the search for the suspects. When CNN and other major news outlets reported inaccurate information, they were quick to correct and kept an anxious public as calm as possible as a result. Their use of Twitter during the several days after the marathon garnered them over 300,000 followers making them the third most follow law enforcement agency in the world on Twitter.

Finalists in the other awards categories will be announced throughout this week on this blog. Check back to see the finalists for Civilian Award of Excellence tomorrow. Winners will be announced September 25th at The SMILE Conference™ in Omaha, Nebraska.

The ConnectedCOPS Awards were created by LAwS Communications with the intent of recognizing the good work being done by individual officers and law enforcement agencies with social media. The international law enforcement community will be considered for these awards. Any officer or agency anywhere in the world is eligible.

The ConnectedCOPS Social Media Investigator Award is generously sponsored by LexisNexis. The finalists in this category are doing extraordinary work with open source investigations. They demonstrate a consistent, methodical, persistent and high quality approach. The judges were very impressed with the quality of nominations in this category. Mary Craige is the Marketing Manager for LexisNexis’ Law Enforcement Division. She said “This year’s nominees for the ConnectedCOPS Top Social Media Investigator illustrate the importance of law enforcement’s ability to find, mine and analyze activity in social media. All of these nominees show their understanding of the medium and their ability to adapt their investigations to how the social media landscape is changing.”

ConnectedCOPS Social Media Investigator

This award is given to the sworn law enforcement investigator at any worldwide law enforcement agency who, as a practitioner, has used social media successfully to solve crime. The Social Media Investigator practices appropriate security measures and supervision in his/her investigations.

The three finalists are:

Jeff Bangild Detective Bangild works for the Toronto Police Service. He is highly respected for his work involving the Internet and social media especially in cases of criminal harassment. Bangild has made ground breaking headway in obtaining reasonable and probable grounds for arrest and charges with reasonable prospect for conviction by using social media investigative techniques that don’t require a forensic analysis of a suspect’s computer. Complainants who deal with him have the utmost respect for his demeanour and tenacity to get the job done, often when other police officers haven’t a clue where to start to investigate. Bangild is currently part of a team at Toronto Police Service designing policy to facilitate community and officer safety better using social media tools.

Eric Draeger Officer Draeger is with the Milwaukee Police Department. His work is primarily in the area of juvenile gang crime. Draeger’s work is said to have made a significant impact upon the safety of the Milwaukee area. His work has led to preventive measures taken by law enforcement to intercept threats of widespread violence during city events. In a recent adult trial Officer Draeger was able to take 31,000 pages of discovery from Facebook and develop a way to insert the evidence into a searchable database. His analysis lead him to be able to pinpoint that the defendant attempted to purchase a handgun the day before armed robberies had occurred. Draeger is also able to explain the intricacies of his social media investigative work to non-technical people and gain convictions in court.

Sam Palmer Detective Palmer is with the Phoenix Police Department. He is highly regarded in the law enforcement community and is regularly called upon to share his knowledge at law enforcement events. In several cases, when given little information, Palmer was able to identify the suspects with analysis of social media and employing techniques to connect the dots. One case involved threats against a high profile person in Phoenix. The other involved a series of robberies. With only nicknames, was able to identify five subjects and provide detectives with thorough profiles on each. In addition to assisting with on-going criminal investigations, Detective Palmer spends time educating youth so they are smarter and less vulnerable when they post information on social media sites.

Finalists in the other awards categories will be announced throughout the next several days on this blog. Check back to see the finalists for Social Media Event Management on Monday. Winners will be announced September 25th at The SMILE Conference™ in Omaha, Nebraska.

The ConnectedCOPS Awards were created by LAwS Communications with the intent of recognizing the good work being done by individual officers and law enforcement agencies with social media. The international law enforcement community will be considered for these awards. Any officer or agency anywhere in the world is eligible.

About ConnectedCOPS

The vision behind ConnectedCOPS is to enhance law officers’ ability to succeed with social media tools by providing insight, encouragement, education and the overall support required. It is also to promote the insightful thoughts of the law enforcement social media visionaries by providing them a voice on this blog.